Season one of Puniru is a Kawaii Slime was pretty solid. In a lot of ways, the show felt very nostalgic from its setup, to its comedy, to its animation. Season two continues many of the elements I enjoyed about the show before. The animation is above average with very creative directing. There are throwbacks and references to other shows throughout the last couple of decades, both stylistically and in the execution of humor. There were many moments in season two when I genuinely laughed more because of the creative editing and the show's stylistic pacing.

Granted, there were still a couple of issues from season one that carry over into this season. Some characters are still not very funny, and some gags go on for way too long. Mami's mommy predator gag in particular still just comes across as a weird sore spot for the show, as it never really gets resolved, even though she has arguably been given a bit more depth in this season, compared to the first one. In fact, a few characters are given more depth in this season compared to season one. While season one felt very episodic, with the romantic and comedic tension between our two leads as the main consistent theme, season two actually tries to be about something. It doesn't always stick the landing, given some of the specifics of its execution, but I was genuinely impressed with how emotional I got and how much I related to what the characters were going through during the season

I was initially a little worried because season two sort of immediately resolves the main cliffhanger that season one ends on, to bring us back to the middle school that serves as the show's main setting. I thought this was a classic case of a series regressing to maintain the status quo. However, I was genuinely shocked that, even in episode one, the show is already exploring some thematic ideas and surprisingly solid character writing. This idea of “cuteness” suddenly takes on many more layers for many of the characters, and for how they see each other. What was originally just an excuse for the main comedic conflict between the two leads suddenly takes on a lot of dramatic weight.

The relationship between Puniru and Kotaro has always been weird because one is a magical toy that comes to life, and the other is a rebellious teenager who is a little bit of a dick. However, this season explores these characters to give a reason for why they act the way they do and tries to evolve them by the end of the season. Puniru starts questioning what it means to be cute, not to everybody, but to Kotaro specifically. She starts asking herself why that's so important, how Kotaro actually sees her, and how she wants to be seen. This actually runs parallel with Gelee's character, who almost acts as a dark mirror to Puniru. Both have this idea of projecting how they want to be seen by Puniru, and it ends up going in some pretty dark directions. I was genuinely surprised by how existential this season got. I ended up genuinely feeling for characters who worried they might not have meant anything to the people they cared about most. It was a surprisingly heavy theme that mostly stuck the landing by the end.

On the other hand, Kotao is a bit of a mixed bag, not because of the lesson he learns, but rather in how he directly interacts with the other characters. Kotaro, as a character, is all about discovering that he is a dumb, rebellious teenager. He learns that and recognizes the fact that, at the end of the day, he was just a lonely kid who desperately wanted a friend. Little did he know he'd end up making friends throughout the show, and I do appreciate how far he's come after I finally saw exactly why he wanted to make Puniru in the first place. There's a lot of nuance now in the relationship between these two, beyond just romantic tension driven by fighting.

There are a few splinters that hold him back from being a character I can fully get behind. While his internal struggle is poignant, his actions still feel very much in line with his archetype. He'll still act very abrasively or will say things very out of line to other characters, and then just never acknowledge that he wasn't treating them right. There are some situations I feel could've been resolved much more smoothly if more attention had been paid to how Kotaro specifically responded. It's almost like I can see what the show is trying to tell me with his character, but the scenes themselves play very awkwardly because of how he specifically plays off the other characters. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like he's talking to the characters that are supposed to be having this effect on him. For his character to feel fully fleshed out, his action specifically needed to be addressed a bit more, and it feels like it never was.

Still, I appreciate the fact that the show ended up taking such a big swing for such heavy subject matter. There are many attempts to emotionally resonate with the audience in this season, and I do think it mostly works, despite some narrative hiccups. The music, in particular, becomes very poignant and specific in how it punctuates many of these emotionally driven scenes. In fact, some scenes feel downright haunting by the framing and musical score, but that's just how heavy the show feels. It's still bright and colorful, with much of the humor from season one for you to enjoy. The show can be silly while also using that silliness to tell a pretty relatable story. If you weren't a big fan of season one, I would almost argue that this season, on its own, works as a complete narrative. Give it another shot, and you'll see what I mean.